Method of making wire mesh



Nov. 22,1938. H. E. WHITE METHOD OF MAKING WIRE MESH Original Filed April 20, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 u JWCMM lib (WHITE. I

Nov. 22, 1938. H. E. WHITE 2,137,257

METHOD OF MAKING WIRE mass Original Filed April 20, use, a Sheets-Sheet 2- EDWIN!!! II III B 5-5 I, '4 lummlv & 8

NI g I 1 0 o ".5. WHITE Npv. 22, 1938. H. E, WHITE 2,137,257 METIfOD or MAKING WIRE MESH Original Filed April 20, 1936 8 Sheets- Sheet 5 Nov. 22', 1938. H. 5. 'wH -E 2,137,257

METHOD OF MAKING WIRE MESH Original Filed April 20, 1936 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 H. E. WHITE' 7 Z 137,257

METHOD OF MAKING WIRE MESH Nov. 22,1938.

Original Filed April 20, 1936 I s Sh eet's-S heet 5 A awe-MM 1-]. E. m TE Nov. 23, 1938. I H. E, WHITE METHOD OF MAKING WIRE MESH s Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed April 20, 1956 ll.E-W/I/TE .va. N8" Ngg w Nov. 22, 1938. H. E. WHITE 2,137,257

METHOD OF MAKING WIRE MESH Original Filed April 20, 1936 e Sheets-Sheet 7 Nov. 22, 1938. H. E. WHITE METHOD O F MAKII TG WIRE MESH Original Filed April 20, 1936 8 Shets-Shet 8 Patented Nov. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE to E. H. Edwards California Company, a corporation of Original application April 20, 1936, Serial No.

75,488. Divided and this application November 13, 1936, Serial No. 110,745 g 8 Claims. -(c1. 140-112 The present application is a division of application, Serial No. 75,488, filedApril 20, 1936. In that application is described and claimed a machine, by means of which the method is set forth and claimed in this application.

The invention relates to a method of making an opened mesh wire fabric of crossedstrands, the strands being in continuous lengths throughout the fabric. The fabric, which is produced by this method, is composed of a plurality of layers, each layer being composed, in turn, of a plurality of strands that extend diagonally across the fabric; and which are at the selvage edge rebent to extend as a different layer across the fabric in the opposite direction, and at a reverse angle. The different layers of the fabric lie, one within the other, and, the strands are secured together, as by a welding at each crossing point.

The object of the invention is to provide a method, 'whereby such a fabric can be made from continuous strands of wire.

Another object is to provide a method, whereby the strands are formed into the fabric in a simple manner by first forming a tubular body, and then flattening the body, and afterwards welding the crossing strands together.

The method of making this fabric comprises briefly, laying the strands in the form of coils upon a tubular mandrel, having a travelling surface, whereby the coils are caused, as they are carried away from the strand-laying mechanism, to assume the form of spirals. Thereafter the tubular fabric is drawn to the mandrel and collapsed into the form of a fiat sheet. The strands, which are laid on the mandrel, make up successive layers, each comprising a plurality of the strands. The successive layers, which are laid about the mandrel, are wound in opposite directions so that the spiral strands of one layer cross those of the adjacent layer. When the tubular structure made up of these crossing spiral coils is collapsed, the layers forming the wall of half of the tubular structure become superposed on the layers forming the other half, and as each half of the tubular fabric is composed of strands in crossing layers, the flattened fabric consists of a fabric of double the number of layers forming the wall of the tubular structure; The tubular structure is so wound and the collapsing operation is so performed, that when the layers are thus superposed, those forming one half oi the tubular structure are positioned between those,

that form the other half, this resulting in a Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the strand-. laying, flattening and welding mechanism.

Figure 3 is a schematic plan view showing the drivingmechanism.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the structure of the strand-supplying reels.

Figure 4a is a similar view showing the strandlaying mechanism and the mandrel.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view of one of the strand-laying arms.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the, line 6-B of Figure 4a.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 'l--'l of Figure 4a.

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail view partly in section, showing the fabric-carrying structure of the mandrel.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the conveyor chain shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view on the line Ill-40 of Figure 4a.

Figure 11 is a sectional view on the line Ii -H of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an enlarged plan view of the flattening mechanism. I

Figure 13 is a detail view of the strand-gripping mechanism of the flattening means.

Figures 14 and 15 are detail views illustrating the operation of the strand-gripping means.

Figure 16 is a plan view showing the operation of the strand-gripping means as the fabric is carried through the welder.

Figure 17 is a detail plan gripping devices.

Figure 18 is a sectional view on the line lB-iB of Figure 17.

Figure 19 is a Figure 1.

Figure 20 is a sectional view on the line 20-20 of-Figure l9.

Figure 21 is a detail view of the lower electrode of the welder.

Figure 22 is a plan view of the electrode of the welder.

Figure 23 is a plan view of a section of fabric produced by the method.

Figure 24 is a perspective view of a section of the fabric.

The drawings illustrate a mechanism, by means view of the strandof which the method may be performed. Describing them more particularly, the machine may be divided into three parts, generally being a strandsupplying mechanism 23, a fabric-forming mechanism 23, and welding mechanism 21. The strand-supplying mechanism may comprise a plurality of reels 23 revolubly mounted with respect to each other and positioned in end-to-end relation. Referring toFlgure 4, it will be seen that each reel includes a plurality of horizontally disposed bars 23 that support, respectively, a plurality of strand-supplying spools 33. The bars 23 may also be provided with strand guides 3i through which the strands are led as they are fed to the fabric-forming mechanism. The bars 23 of the forward reel or the one towards the fabric-forming mechanism, are supported by heads 32 and 33 that are in turn supported and secured to a tubular shaft 34. The bars of the rearward reel are supported by heads 33 and 33 which are supported by and secured to 'a tubular shaft 31, through which the tubular shaft 34 extends and which is rotatable with respect thereto. Suitable bearings, as at 33, may be interposed between the shaft 34 and the structure of the rearward reel, through which it passes.

Surrounding the forward end of the forward reel and revoluble with respect to its head 33, as

shown in Figure 4a, is a strand-laying armcarrylng ring-33. Between this ring 33 and the head 33 of the rearward reel are tubular guides 43, through which the strands are led from the spools of the rearward reel. Suitable tie bolts, as at 4i, may secure the ring 33 to the head 33. A plurality of spools 33 are supported upon each of the bars 23 of each of the reels. Each tubular guide 43 is associated with each of the bars 23 of the rearward reel to accommodate the strands drawn from the spools of that particular bar. Associated with each of the tubular guides and supported by the ring 33 is a strand-laying arm 43. AsshowninFigureS thesearms43 are bracket-like in shape. and extend axially of the ring 33. For each of the strands 44, is a guide wheel 43, about which the strand passes. Similar strand-laying arms 43 are mounted upon the head 33 of the forward reel, there being one arm 43 associated with each bar 23 of this reel. The strands are led through the guides 3!, supported by the bars 23, and through a guide 41, upon the head to the arm 43.

The drive for these strand-supplying reels comprises a main shaft 43, driven through suitable gearing by a motor 43. As shown in Figure .4, the tubular shaft 34 extends rearwardly through therearhead 33 oftherearwardreeLandism ported in a bearing 33. Upon the'shaft 34 is secured a worm gear 3i that meshes with a worm 32 geared through bevel gears 33 to the drive shaft 43. p v

The rear head 33 of the rearward drum carries a worm gear 34 about its periphery. This gear 34 is driven by a worm 33 which is geared through bevel gears 33, to the shaft 43. The bevel gears -33and 33aresodisposedthatthe worms 32 and 33 are driven in opposite directions, so that the forward and rearward reels revolve oppositely as they are driven by the shaft 43. The arm-carrying ring 33 bears about its outer periphery. a worm gear 31 that is meshed with a worm 33, driven through bevel gears 33 from the drive shaft 43. The bevel gears 33 are similarly disposed to the bevel gears 33, so that the ring 7 isdrlveninthedirectlomandatthesamespeed astherearwardreel. a

As the two reels revolve in opposite directions,

it will be appreciated that strands are laid by the arms 43 and 46 in the form of coils upon a mandrel 33 which is disposed in proper relation in front of the forward end of the forward reel. 3 The mandrel 33 is so constructed as to carry the coils forward as they are laid, causing them to assume the form of spiral coils, those being laid by the arms 43 extending in the opposite direction, and therefore crossing those laid by the 10 arms 43.

The mandrel is constructed as follows. A shaft 3i extends from the rear of the machine to the 1 forward end of the mandrel, running through the tubular shaft 34 and through the center of the 15 mandrel. Upon this shaft 6i are mounted at the front and rear'end of the mandrel, respectively, stationary heads 62 and 33. Supported upon the heads 32 and 63 are sprocket wheels 64, those of the respective heads being in aligned relation. Sprocket chains 63 pass about these sprocket wheels axially of the mandrel and the puter reaches of these chains form the mandrel surface upon which the strands are laid.

Referring to Figures 6 and 8, it will be seen The sprocket chains 63 may be driven in the following manner. The head 33 of the forward reel may be provided with a tubular extension 31 that extends to a point adjacent the rearward 4 head 63 of the mandrel. At its forward end the extension 31 is provided with a bevel gear 63. The sprocket wheels 64 of the rearward head 33 of the mandrel may be associated with bevel gears 63 mounted upon the ends of the shafts which support the sprocket wheels. The bevel gears 63 engage bevel gears 'i3 upon shafts ii supported in suitable brackets 12 carried by the head 33, and carrying at their inner ends bevelgears 13 meshing, in turn, with the bevel gears'33. It will be seen tliat as the head 63 is driven by the'drive shaft, 43, the gear 33 will revolve, driving thesprocket wheels 34 through the bevel gears 13, shaft ii, bevel gears I 3 and 63.

When the tubular fabric formed by the above described mechanism reaches the end of the chain 63, it is subjected to a flattening operation. This may be performed by the following mechanism. Upon the shaft 6i are mounted a plurality of spaced supports 14 that supporta flat tapered 0 mandrel 13. As shown in Figure2, the-width of the mandrel 13 increases toward the forward or discharge end of the machine. As the tubular fabric advances over the tapered mandrel 13, it is flattened and the layers forming the upper half 65 of the tubular structure are caused to bridge those forming the lower half.

As it is desirable to maintain the cross strands in flxed relation duringthis operation, the fol-' lowing mechanismmay be advantageously employed. At either side of the tapering mandrel .13 are supports 13 that support a conveyor system, generally 11. Referring to Figures 10 and 16, it will be seen that the conveyors include endless chains 13 composed of overlapping links 13 that at its end a roller 88. Rollers 88 engage in a cam are secured together by relatively long pins ex.- tending through adjacent links. The chains 18 pass about wheels 8I adjacent the'large. end of the tapering mandrel and wheels 82'at the discharge end of the machine.

The inner ends of the pins are provided with slots 83, into which, the portion of a strand that is toform a part of the selvage edge of the fabric, may be introduced.

- The slots 83 interiorly of the pin widen axially as shown in Figure 18, to provide a socket 84 with overlapping portions 85 within ,which the. strand may be engaged. The pins 80 are revoluble in the links 19 and pairs of adjacent pins are coupled by segment gears 88. One of each pair of pins is provided with a crank arm 81 carrying track 89 that runs parallel to the edge of the fabric from the end of the tubular mandrel 60 to the discharge end of the machine. This cam track is so-arranged thatslightly before the fabric leavesthe tubular mandrel 60, the crank arm 81 will be swung, thus turning the adjacent pins 80 in opchanneled on its under side. The links 9| carry vertical pins 93that carry on their top endsrollers 94 that run in the cam track 92. Thecam track 92, as will be seen by referring to Figure 12, runs from a point toward the rear of the discharge end of the tubular mandrel 60 toward the mandrel 60, thence parallel to the sides of the mandrel 60, to its end, then parallel to the edges of the tapered mandrel 15, to its end, and then straight forward to the discharge end of the machine. The cam track 89 parallels the track 02.

The operation of these conveyors which are duplicated on each side of the machine, is as fol-, lows:

' The horizontal motion of the pins is governed by the cam track 92" and as the pins advance from the rear end of the conveyor In the direction in which the fabric is traveled, they first approach the strands which are advancing upon the tubular mandrel, and a strand enters into a slot in the end of each pin. At this time, due to the configuration of the track 89, the pins are swung, locking the strands in the ends of the pins. As the fabric and conveyors advance upon the tapered mandrel 15, the pins 80 are drawn outwardly. by

the diverging portions of the tracks 02, holding the strands in their proper relation as the top and bottom halves of the tubular fabric structure are brought together. After the fabric leaves the tapered mandrel 15, the travel of the pins 80 of the -two conveyors become parallel, and the strands are held by them in their proper relation during their passage through the welder 21. After the welding operation thecam trackts swings the pins to their unlocking position, shown in Figure 18, when the pins are drawn from the fabric. I

After the fabric has left the tapered mandrel, it is carried in its collapsed and flattened condition to a welding apparatus 21, the strands being held in their proper relation to each other by the pins 00 of the conveyors. In the welder the nected to the electrodes.

strands are welded together at each of their cross- IN is driven from the shaft 48 by means of spur gears I02, the supplemental shaft I03, bevel gears I04, and a vertical shaft I connected with the shaft IOI by means of any suitable type of gearing, as at I06. Spaced from the shaft IIII toward the strand-laying mechanism is a second transverse shaft I01. each carries a plurality of sprocket wheels I08, about which run sprocket chains I00 running in channels I I0 in a flat surfacedtable I I I that may be supported on the shafts IIII and I01 by means of' journals I I2 that surround the shafts.

The chains I09 carry electrode bars II3 that extend transversely of the machine'throughout the width of the fabric and which slide upon the top of the table'III as the chains travel. The bars are so spaced that each one underlies a row of crossing points of the strands forming the fabric as the fabric is fed through the machine.

ing points to form the fabric into a completed- The shafts'IOI and I01 Preferably the upper surfaces of the bars are provided'with sockets I I4, as shown in Figure 22, the sockets being connected by suitable channels for the reception of the strands, the crossing points of which are within the sockets. The sockets are of proper size to receive the upper electrodes that will be later described.

At a point spaced above the table III, the sup-- ports I00 carry a rotary shaft H6 driven through bevel gears II6 from the shaft I05. The shaft II5 carries cams II1 that are engaged in hangers I'I8 that support the upper electrode in the machine, and which operate to reciprocate the upper electrode-holding frame H8 at definite intervals in timed relation with the travel of the electrode bars H3. The hangers I I8 may be provided with upwardly extending rods I20 that pass through a cross bar I2I between the supports I00, and which are cushioned by coiled springs I22.

The electrode frame II9 may comprise threetransverse bars I23, I24 and I25, respectively. Electrodes I26 are slidably mounted in the lower two bars I24 and I25, these two bars being formed of insulating material. The electrodes are preferably backed by springs within tubular casings I28 in order to give a firm but yielding contact with the crossings of the strands which are to be. welded. Current is supplied through transformers I21 to flexible lead rolls I28 conso arranged that the current passes from one electrode downwardly through the crossing point which the electrode is in engagement with, through the. electrode bar, and to another one of the electrodes, thence through that electrode and back to the transformer.

The conveyors 18 may be driven from the shaft I01 by means of a sprocket wheel I20 mounted thereon, a sprocket chain I30 and a sprocket wheel Ill mounted upon a transverse shaft I32,

which drives the conveyor chains.

The method of making this fabric essentially comprises the winding of the strands in aplurality of layers in the form of a. reticulated tubu- The welding circuit is lar structure, and thereafter flattening the tubuthe outer layer of the tubular structure become the top and bottom strands of the completed fabric. These strands are labeled top where they cross the top of the strands, and l where they become the bottom strands, these strands running back and forth across the fabric and always on the outside. The inner layers of the tubular structure become the.inner layers of the completed fabric. These strands are labeled 2 and 3", these figures indicating their relative order from the top layer of the fabric downwardly. The appearance of the fabric is that of a woven structure, this appearance being given by the fact that the strands pass over certain of the otherstrands and under still others of these strands.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. The method of forming an open meshed fabric of continuous crossed strands, which consists in laying a plurality of continuous strands to form a tubular body of said strands, and bringing together spaced portions of the walls of the body to form a plurality of superposed layers of strands, the strands of each layer crossing those of another layer.

2. The method of forming an open meshed fabric of continuous crossed strands which consists in laying the strands upon a mandrel to form a tubular body of cofls, and collapsing the body to bring spaced portions of the walls thereof together to form a plurality of layers of strands in which the selvage is formed by the wires of one layer being looped and said wires extending from said loops across both layers.

3. The method of forming an open meshed fabric, of continuous crossed strands, which consists in laying a plurality of continuous strands in oppositely extending spiral coils in the form of a tubular open mesh body of crossed coils, collapsing said coils in unbroken condition into a sheet with opposite initially spaced walls forming a plurality of layers, and locating the crossed' 2,187,257 wherein it will be seenthat the strands forming wires of one layer between the crossed strands of the other layer. I

4. The method of forming an open meshed fabric of continuous crossed strands, which consists in forming a tubular body of saidstrands and drawing opposite portions of the body outwardly to bring. initially spaced portions of the walls thereof between the outwardly drawn portions together to form a. plurality of layers of strands and welding together the strands at their crossing points.

5. The method of forming an open meshed fabric, of continuous crossed strands, which consists in laying a plurality of continuous strands in oppositely extending spiral coils to .form a tubular open mesh body of crossed spiral coils,

collapsing said coils in unbroken condition into a sheet with opposite initially spaced walls forming a plurality of layers, locating the crossed wires of one layer between the crossed wires of the other layer, welding together the strands of each layer at their crossing points, and welding together the strands of the different layers at their crossing points.

6. The method .of forming an open meshed fabric which consists in forming a tubular body having'a wall comprising a layer including a plurality of sets of parallel strands, and collapsing the body to bring together spaced portions of the walls to form a flat body of the sets of strands, and welding together the strands of the difierent layers at their crossing points.

'7. The method of forming an open meshed fabric of continuous crossed strands that consists in laying a plurality of continuous strands in spiral coils to form a tubular open mesh body of continuous spiral coils, and bringing together the walls of the body in unbroken condition to form a sheet composed of superposed layers comprising respectively the initially spaced opposite layers of the body.

8. The method of forming an open meshed fabric which consists in forming a tubular body by successively laying sets of spirally coiled parallel strands, the strands of the respective sets being oppositely coiled, and the strands of each set crossing those of the next set, collapsing the body to bring portions of the spaced walls together in superposed relation, and securing the strands together at their crossing points.

HERBERT E. WHITlil. 

